Origin Effects Deluxe55 review – is this the ultimate ‘tweed in a box’ pedal?
£279/$339, origineffects.com
Let’s just consider what we’re dealing with here. On the one hand you’ve got the 1955 narrow-panel Fender 5E3 Deluxe, perhaps the single most revered amplifier in tonehound history; and on the other you’ve got Origin Effects, maker of some of the highest-quality analogue overdrive and amp-modelling pedals on the planet. As mouthwatering combinations go, this one is right up there with rhubarb and custard.
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The Deluxe55 sets out to recreate the complete tweed Deluxe experience, from sweetly purring overdrive to squishy, splattery, edge-of-falling-to-bits anarchy. It’s made in the UK, it has the classy looks of something that belongs in a display cabinet, and it costs… well, quite a lot for a stompbox but nothing next to the price of a real 5E3.
Image: Press
What is the Origin Effects Deluxe55 for?
Like the company’s other ‘amp recreation’ pedals, this one has two distinct use cases: as an overdrive running into a real amplifier, and as a standalone simulator. So I’ll be testing it through a clean amp with a neutral EQ profile, and then plugging directly into an audio interface with an impulse response (IR) providing the virtual speaker cab.
The ‘post EQ’ control lets you tailor the tone of the output to whatever it’s plugged into, and works in tandem with a three-way switch: position 1 is for brighter amps, position 2 is for darker amps, and the central setting gives an unfiltered tone to feed to an IR or power amp.
The other controls are output level, drive and tone, and you also get a switch that replicates the effect of using a hotter 12AX7 valve in the first gain stage instead of the standard 12AY7. Ooh, the fiends, they thought of everything.
Image: Press
Does the Origin Effects Deluxe55 sound good?
From the first chord, it’s clear Origin has absolutely nailed this. At light crunchy settings, it sounds and feels just like a great low-wattage tweed amp: warm and thumpy on the wound strings, clear and supremely touch-responsive in the higher register. Turn up the gain and things get nicely thick and buzzy, with plenty of rasping aggression in the upper mids; and when you slam both drive and tone to maximum, there it is: the wild fuzz and spluttery compression of ‘the Neil Young sound’, best enjoyed at high volume and with no fragile glassware in the room.
The control set is basic but effective, and even at full blast you can pull back to a useful and likeable medium-gain tone – with surprisingly little background noise – just by turning down the guitar’s volume. You can even use the post EQ to tighten up the fluffy bottom end, though this is no Tube Screamer.
And the direct option? After recording a few minutes of aimless widdlage through the Deluxe55, I played it back while auditioning a whole bunch of IRs. It sounded tidy with pretty much all of them, but the newly added tweed sounds from Origin’s own IR library stood out as a perfect match. That’s a free download, so you’re well advised to jump on it.
Should I buy the Origin Effects Deluxe55?
If you’re interested in the concept, then you will absolutely not be disappointed by the reality of this amazing little box. It’s the best Origin pedal I’ve used so far, and does its job more convincingly than I previously thought possible from a solid-state device. Beyond the stunningly amp-like tones, it really captures the feel of plugging straight into a classic tweed combo – and that, in the end, is what makes the Deluxe55 so hard to switch off.
Origin Effects Deluxe55 alternatives
If you want a whole tweed amp in a box, including cab simulation, then the Universal Audio Woodrow (£299/$349) is a solid choice. Prefer working with a real amplifier? Analogue overdrives with tweedy character include the Catalinbread Formula 55 (£160/$161), Greer Amps Tomahawk (£189/$189) and True North Tweed Drive (£149/$159).
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